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Your
website is a critical tool to help your startup to attract
new customers and sell more
products and services. But if your site design isn't
optimized to engage visitors, you might be missing out on leads,
sales or newsletter signups -- otherwise referred to as
conversions -- without realizing it.

One way to improve
your site's performance is through "split testing," a
strategy where you test two versions of website elements to see
which works better. There is more to split testing than simply
comparing two versions of a page. You need to measure the results
and see if there's a statistically significant difference between
the two variations.

Let's say, for example, you ran a split test on a landing page
and came up with these results:

Variation 1: This version received 903 visits, with five
conversions

Variation 2: The modified version of the page received 976
visits, with seven conversions

At first glance, it looks as if variation 2 is the better page,
but don't jump to conclusions. Split testing is based on
measurement, and your results need to be statistically
significant, meaning the results you've achieved are due to
measurable differences not random chance. Otherwise, it can be
harder to prove that the difference in performance will continue.

For split testing to be successful, you need to have a large
number of eyeballs on your pages, as you'll need a certain
quantity of visitors to track whether or not your target
conversions are happening. If you don't yet have enough traffic
to produce statistically significant results, focus on a traffic
growth strategy first and hold off on split testing until you
have more visitors. But if you have more than 10,000 visits a
month, get started with any of the following split tests:

1. Headlines.
A headline can significantly affect the number of conversions
your page achieves. Just consider the experience of Chicago-based
software company 37signals, which relied on split testing to
increase signups for Highrise, its customer relationship
management software.

Its original headline said, "Start a Highrise Account." Centered
below it was the line: "30-day free trial period on all
accounts." Highrise split test several landing pages and
eventually settled on the one with the headline, "30-day Free
Trial on All Accounts." The subhead read, "Sign-up takes less
than 60 seconds. Pick a plan and get started."

When you test headlines, think about how you can benefit the
prospect. Headlines that are clear and enticing generally are
better for increasing conversion rates.

2. Social media calls to action.
Split testing also can help you craft more effective messages on
your website to attract social media followers. For instance,
Dustin Curtis, founder of San Francisco-based publishing network
Svbtle, decided to test different messages to try to get more
Twitter followers.

First, he tested, "I'm on Twitter," which had a 4.7 percent
click-through rate. But he settled on his second message, "You
should follow me on Twitter here," which produced a 12.8 percent click-through
rate. If Curtis hadn't elected to test this particular
call to action, he would have lost potential followers by
sticking with a less effective message.

3. Images.
You can split test different types of images on your site. If you
put pictures of real people on your site, for example, it's
likely that visitors will be more engaged. Studies have shown
that website visitors react more strongly to pictures of faces
than to any other type of picture.

You can also test different colors on your site, including the
colors of the buttons visitors click. Toronto-based healthcare
company Carelogger increased its conversion rate by 34
percent, and all it did was change the color of its
sign-up button from green to red.

4. Checkout pages.
Testing doesn't stop on the home page or product pages. It should
be happening on all the pages you deem important -- from landing
pages to checkout pages.

For example, Calgary-based e-commerce site Hockey Canada Store
wanted to increase conversion rates and reduce the number of
people who were abandoning items in their online shopping carts,
so it decided to test its checkout page. By switching from the
original two-page checkout to a single page-checkout, it saw
a 21.8 percent increase in conversion rate
-- likely due to the decreased complexity of the checkout
process.

These are just a few of the numerous split tests you can try. Don't be afraid
to try something new because those are often the tests that
can yield a home run. And remember to always keep an open
mind. If something isn't working, don't be afraid to test it
again.